I'm talking about modeling compounds used by children and artists. Sculpey, Premo, Cernit, Kato are some of the brands. It is cured in an oven at low temperature, typically 250-275 degrees. It produces a very mild odor when cured. I know it is nasty if it scorches, but I've no idea if it would pose a risk nomally. It's considered nontoxic and suitable for use by childern by the EPA.

I would use it in my studio -- I have a tiny jewelry business -- which is pretty far from the room where the bird is.

My friend and I don't use sculpey, we use Fimo/They recomend geting a toaster oven and curing them that way.We check the package and go with the ones that are fume free and then we cure/bake them in a seperate room.As for the metal clay I would recomend doing that in a garage, outside or seperate building.I would say as long as it's in a seperate room far away from birds, and the oven that you use is only for that you should be fine.We've used it multiple times and have not seen any side effects from out birds.We've not been able to locate anything saying that it is or isn't toxic for birds. Hope that helps!

Hi misslady! I actually use Kato and occasionally Premo and I have a dedicate toaster oven quite far from the room where the bird is. About a year ago, all polymer clays in the US were reformulated to be pthalate free, so I expect they are all equivalent in terms of outgassing. I think they all do emit some plasticizer when curing, but I am encouraged that it isn't particularly toxic. The odor is certainly minimal.

Well I think it should be alright as long as it's in a seperate room.I have done some resin casting and there is a brand that I use that is fume free. It is expensive though.So I got a different resin that was a lot cheaper but when I used it the fumes were horrendous!Thank GOD it was summer! I grabbed noodle and my finches and set them outside and then called my friend to see if they could stay a day or two until the fumes cleared out! They stayed for two days at my friends while I vented my house. So be extra sure that things you use are safe and be sure to have someone you can call in an emergency to take your guys too in case something happens.Have fun crafting! If you make jewelry have you heard of Etsy? You should check it out, if anything it's an awesome community of handmade items!www.etsy.com